The Outdoor Environment as a Place for Therapeutic Change

28th and 29th October 2006 - Kingussie

"When we venture into the outdoor realm, how much attention do we pay to our connection to the environment we find ourselves in? What importance do we place on whether we are journeying through nature or alongside it? How is it that we speak of going out into nature as a separate experience? Does it matter that we ‘use’ nature as a tool to promote human recovery and health?"

To learn more about this or to book your place, please contact: Nick Ray or Ruth Bradbrook at team(at)an-turus.co.uk - Or call them on +44(0)1463 243852 / 07818094311

Learn more about the An Turus Wilderness programme here: http://www.an-turus.co.uk/wilderness.html

Programme arms students with skills - Umzi in The Herald SA Today

In Today's Herald:

"THE opening of a coffee shop called Conyngham‘s on Monday will mean a hopeful new start for a group of youngsters who have suffered more than their share of troubles.
The coffee shop is the front end of the Eastern Cape‘s unique social upliftment programme, Umzi Wethu.

Situated in the grounds of the EP Children‘s Home in Conyngham Road in Parsons Hill, the venue is staffed by 16 students who have been enrolled in the programme‘s first intake, each of them orphaned by Aids, either directly or indirectly, by a lethal mix of poverty, substance abuse and the effects of the pandemic, causing severe dislocation in their families.

Launched in April, Umzi Wethu (“Our Home” in Xhosa) was initiated by the Wilderness Foundation and designed in conjunction with 34 partners including local and international Aids NGOs, orphanages, the NMMU, game reserves and tourism and hospitality agencies."

Read the full story here... and earlier coverage from us here and here.
- Why not help support Umzi by sponsoring one of our teams climbing Kilimanjaro in October? Links here and here.

The World's Wild Places - New Colin Prior Book

The World's Wild Places: In this unique collection of photography, Colin Prior has spent the last ten years documenting the last of the wild – remote lands at the furthest extremes of the Earth. From the shifting ice sheets of Greenland to the oxygen-starved Atacama Desert.

We are extremely grateful to Colin Prior for his continued support - and especially for allowing us to one of his Scottish pictures for our poster campaign. Order your signed copy of the book today!

Save China's Tiger Evening a Roaring Success

Last night at the South African High Commission in London, Lucia van der Post, journalist and daughter of the late patron of the Wilderness Foundation, Laurens van der Post, was on stage in conversation with Li Quan the founder and director of Save China's Tigers who gave a fascinating insight into her battle to save the last few remaining Chinese Tigers.

"I am grateful to our ancestors for leaving us the Chinese tiger-the spirit of nature and the wellspring of culture. I pray, thanks to the united efforts of people worldwide, that the roar of the Chinese tiger will be heard echoing in the wilderness for generations to come." - Li Quan

The evening was possible due to a tight knit organising committe with Wilderness Foundation UK trustee Louise Aspinall leading from the front.

We'd like to thank the generous sponsors, those who donated gifts for our action, as well as our friends at the South African High Commission for their continued support:

- Patrick Mavros - Global Bullion -

- The Draycott - KWV Wines - SAB Miller -

- The Mantis Collection - Southern Africa Travel -

- Susannah Lovis - Pickett - Susan Shi -

- Mao Tai - Rick Stein - Yang Sing -

- Leicester Tigers -

Kilimanjaro Fundraising Goes From Strength to Strength

The fundraising efforts of Sharon Oliver, Jill Golding, Sarah Alcock & Julieanne Cloete for the Wilderness Foundation and specifically the Umzi project in South Africa, have continually impressed us. Do visit their page on JustGiving to read more about their effort and add to the total!

South African Passage - Diaries from the Wilderness Leadership School

South African Passage contains excerpts from the diaries of teenagers who have gone into the wilderness of South Africa with Dr. Ian Player and the trail leaders of the Wilderness Leadership School.

Since 1958, Dr. Ian Player, the man responsible for saving the white rhino from extinction and brother of international golfer Gary Player, has been taking mixed groups of teenagers—13 to 18-years old, black, white, Indian and Asian — on Outward Bound-type experiences into the South African bush.

Wilderness Training Course

BACKGROUND

Almost fifty years ago Dr Ian Player and Maqubu Ntombela took the first group of students from St Johns College out on trail in iMfolozi Game Reserve. That started the magnificent journey that has been the Wilderness Leadership School’s legacy to almost 40 000 trailists.
People from all over the world have continued to experience this journey of self-discovery coupled with the adrenalin filled opportunity to observe and participate in nature on foot.

THE MISSION

To bring about a realization of the interdependence of all things, especially between the human and the non-human elements of the earth.
We believe that we can bring about such a shift in consciousness by exposing people to a direct experience of wilderness.

“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” - Henry David Thoreau

THE COURSE

The Course is conducted according to the Wilderness Leadership School’s ethos and emphasizes mans interdependence with nature.
The Course is a values driven introduction to wilderness and the underpinning ethics involved. Our aim at the School is to ensure that all students leave with an innate understanding of Wilderness and the part it has to play in our future. The instructors are all full wilderness trails guides passionately dedicated to preserving our natural environment and wilderness areas.

- A wilderness training course is a physical, mental and spiritual experience during which time the participants are given the opportunity to re-examine life’s priorities and experience personal growth.
- Conducted in the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve, the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (Heritage site) and the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park depending on the time of year.
- Facilitated by world class wilderness trails guides with many years experience in the philosophical and ethical objective of the WLS as well as an intimate knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Wilderness in which they operate.
- Journeys of discovery providing an opportunity for groups to bond and for individual personal growth experiences.
- Catered for and equipped by the Wilderness Leadership School.
- Conducted with the highest attention given to the safety and security of the students.


THE COURSE CONTENT

Designed and customized by the Wilderness Leadership School instructors themselves the course content includes the following modules and disciplines:

- Animal Identification and Behavioral Interpretation
- Bush Lore and Tracking Skills
- Environmental Literacy
- The Nature of Wilderness
- Personal Growth Development
- Minimal Impact Camping Skills and Techniques
- Trail Mechanics
- Interpretation of Landscapes and Earth Sciences
- Individual Leadership Development
- Group Dynamics and Assessment
- Environmental Responsibility and Accountability
- Emergency First Aid and HIV Awareness

The whole course is delivered with an underlying emphasis on Wilderness Ethics which is the core of the Wilderness Leadership Schools philosophy.

THE COST

R 13 000-00 (+/- £950) per Student per course including VAT. Excludes flights to South Africa.
Included:

- All food
- Accommodation
- Tuition
- Transport to and from Game Reserves
- Two 5 day Wilderness Trails (Value R7500-00)
- Use of Trails Equipment
- Theta Assessment
- Wilderness Leadership School Certificate

Please contact our office if you'd like to learn more or book a place - info (at) wilderness foundation.org.uk or 08081786931/+441245443073